As part of a normal caretaking routine, individuals routinely launder their clothes to maintain their cleanliness. During subsequent washing and drying of their clothes some fabrics may develop at least a certain amount of wrinkles Many individuals consider wrinkled clothes undesirable and will utilize an iron to substantially reduce the amount of wrinkles in the article of clothing. Most individuals will utilize a convention ironing board with an iron and manipulate the article of clothing in numerous positions to eliminate most of the wrinkles from the article of clothing.
There are numerous inherent problems with the conventional ironing board that has existed for decades. One major problem is the instability of a conventional ironing board. A conventional ironing board utilizes a pair of pivotal legs that are positioned in an angular manner with respect to each other in underneath and in general axial alignment with the ironing board. This design has shown to promote significant lateral instability. As the legs of a conventional ironing board do not extend beyond the perimeter edge of the board and with most ironing boards being at least four feet in height, the conventional design provides almost no lateral stability.
Another issue with conventional ironing boards is that they provide no cord management for the iron being used therewith. Typically a user will place the ironing board proximate an electrical outlet and plug in the iron. A conventional iron utilizes a power cord that provides power to the iron to heat the heating element. The cord presents a significant safety hazard to those using the ironing board or those walking proximate thereto. Users and/or those walking adjacent to the ironing board and iron often trip on the cord, which can cause significant injury to the individual who has become entangled with the cord. As a person trips on the cord the iron can fall off of the board and impact the person causing injuries ranging from burns to blunt trauma. Additionally, a falling iron can be a fire hazard and/or damage the flooring or nearby objects.
A further issue with a conventional ironing board is the lack of ability to maintain a controlled position of the iron superposed thereon. As a user manipulates the article of clothing being ironed the iron is typically placed on the opposite end of the board. As previously discussed, the inherent lack of lateral stability creates a scenario where the iron is routinely knocked off of the ironing board creating an additional safety hazard.
Accordingly, there is a need for an ironing board that has improved lateral stability, a power cord management system for an iron and a means to maintain the iron in a stable position when a user is manipulating an article of clothing on the ironing board or when the iron is left unattended.